REMINDER to Parishioners * 24 Hour Eucharistic Adoration for 2020 - First Friday – May 1 thru May 2 Starting at 9 am on Friday an ending at 9 am on Saturday) Note: There will be a prayer petition book placed out the week prior to our First Friday Eucharistic Adoration. Anyone wishing to have petitions offered during Adoration may enter their petition into the book and they will be prayed for. Attention: Church doors are locked @ 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. if you are coming to pray during this time please knock on door (under carport) 5 minutes before the start of each hour and you will be let in by person already inside of church.

We may still only have 10 (or less) people in church, but you are welcome to come spend time with Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament

From the desk of Fr. Barry: It’s been five weeks now of being under the “Stay at Home” order, and there’s still an uncertainty to when it will really end. I have to say, I’m pretty tired of it. I need a haircut, haven’t been able to see my family in Rapids, can’t visit parishioners in the hospital or nursing homes, and most of all, miss seeing each of you at Mass. I’ve struggled with coming up ways to stay more in touch. I’ve doubted my ability of being creative in ways that reach out. I’ve wondered what more can I be doing!

Then I read the readings for this weekend. The Responsorial Psalm tells us, “Lord, you will show us the path to life.” And through all of this I see we have to look past what is currently going on, the Lord still has a plan for all of this, he is still showing us that path!

In our Gospel passage from Luke, we hear the famous Road to Emmaus Walk, Jesus is walking with two disciples who don’t recognize him. The journey together leads them to discover how their hearts burned with them but only after Jesus departs them, only after they break bread together.

But this story is deeper than it might seem on the surface. You see, in many ways, this story teaches us truths about the spiritual life. First, our spiritual life is a kind of journey, an active thing, a moving down a path toward a destination. Secondly, on this journey we are not alone --- we have each other, but most importantly, we have Jesus, our God, who is making the journey with us, whether we are aware of it or not. And thirdly, this Jesus we call our Savior, wants nothing more than to commune with us, be with us, teach us, guide us and help us connect the dots of our own individual stories with his. He wants us to know he is with us and will always be.

That my friends is the hope that has pulled me out of the stooper I have been in. The hope that our Lord does in deed walk with us each and every day. In the good, and in the not so good. In time of difficulties and in the joys we celebrate. As we have been livestreaming our daily and weekend Masses, I see that he does indeed walk with us. Before all this happened, our normal daily Mass attendance was between 15 to 30 people. When we finish Mass now, we have 50 to 80 people watching live, and by the time I go to bed we have over 300 that have viewed the Mass. That to me is proof that Christ is among us!

On another positive note, construction is full speed ahead. The basement and garage have been poured and by the end of the week, you’ll see frame work going up! God’s hand is in this my friends, everything has gone so smoothly. We didn’t sign a contract until March thinking that we wouldn’t be able to start till after spring, but with cancellations we were moved first in line. That is no coincidence!

My friends stay positive, look for Christ in those places you wouldn’t have before. He is there, HE HAS RISEN, and his comforting each of us, is what will get us through this. ​God Bless, Fr. Barry

Happy Easter! I am now hosting youth ministry meetings weekly online through Zoom, Wednesdays at 3:30pm. All teens are welcome to join us. One positive aspect of meeting online is that it is easier to join with other youth groups and have guest speakers from long distances. Please contact me to sign up for the weekly reminders and instructions on how to join the Zoom call. You can also join with any landline phone. We are using a waiting room to ensure security on Zoom, so please let me know in advance if you are attending for the first time. ​We are also participating in ProjectYM live, a Catholic online event featuring guest speakers such as Fr. Mike Schmitz. Each broadcast is an hour long and includes games, music, and a teaching from one of the top Catholic youth ministry speakers in the country. Teens/families will be able to watch the live stream from any device – and be part of the BIGGEST Catholic youth night ever! This is held on Sunday nights from 7-8pm. The link to watch is https:// live.projectym.com/

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From the desk of Fr. Barry: ​I hope this finds everyone well after our Easter Day celebrations. Christ has truly risen! Alleluia!! As we continue to move through this Easter Season (till Pentecost), Sacred Scriptures will show us much zeal for our faith, but will also show doubt as in this weekends Gospel passage from John. Thomas, after hearing Jesus had appeared to the disciples says “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Seeing is truly believing, and when Thomas is able to see for himself, out comes those famous words, “My Lord and my God”. These are the same words I say at every Mass when I genuflect after holding up the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ensuring that this mystery before me is acknowledged for what it truly is.

“Seeing is believing”, it seems to hold true for many of us. Yet, so many times throughout our lives we go with our gut feeling or even what society tells us to think. Some may think that abortion is ok if it doesn’t affect me and it’s someone else making the decision. Church is something I believe in but if someone else doesn’t, well that’s ok. Or what about the sacraments? The Eucharist is fundamental to our faith, yet some Catholics only see this as a piece of bread that has no tie to the actual Body of Christ, or confession as being something that can be done in private without participating in the Sacrament of reconciliation.

What’s the point of believing if it doesn’t change us on the inside, if it doesn’t actually shape how we live, how we love each other, or how we treat one another? What’s the point of believing if we reduce it to just words, or ideas that simply rattle around in our heads? In other words, the depth of our belief is reflected in the depth of our love. It is in the action’s that we take to bring Christ into this world, to make our Lord visible in the lives we live.

I feel that so many of you are doing just that through your support of the new rectory/offices. Helping Christ the King grow into the future. If you have driven by the Church you’ve probably seen that we have broken ground! The basement walls and floor, as well as the garage floor has been poured. This coming week you’ll see the floor joists will be going in and the exterior walls will go up next, then the roof! In this case, seeing is believing, and yes we are growing and making our community stronger! Thank you everyone for all you have done, being that light of Christ to our faith community. God Bless, Fr. Barry

I am now hosting youth ministry meetings weekly online through Zoom, Wednesdays at 3:30pm. All teens from Christ the King are welcome to join us. Please contact me to sign up for the weekly reminders and instructions on how to join the Zoom call. You can also join with any landline phone.

Some of the small groups are still meeting online. If your small group is currently not meeting, I would encourage you to continue striving for 15 minutes a day of person- al prayer. At least we can be united in prayer!

From the desk of Fr. Barry: Happy Easter everyone! This is my ultimate favorite time of year, and I have to say this is the most unusual Holy Week any of us have ever celebrated. Our Masses are being brought to us through the television, radio, or the internet. Distance is the focus of our actions. Trying to contain and stop the spread of this vicious virus, Covid 19 is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. With it has brought a time of anxiety for some, a time of doubt, a time of unsureness for others, and a time that some have gotten depressed. But through it all, the message stays the same. CHRIST HAS RISEN!

During these last 40 days we have focused on our relationship with Jesus. We have journeyed in private or public settings, developing a closer relationship with a God who loves us so much he sent his only begotten Son to redeem us. Taking on our sin, our unworthiness, or brokenness, our humanity to unite us in a way that we had never been united before. And this was all done out of LOVE! It was through his example that we are able to see what an authentic, faithful life looks like.It was this journey that has allowed us to mirror the life of Jesus Christ. How did we do? Did we spend time contemplating the mysteries of the Cross? Did you attend the Stations and try to unite Christ’s suffering within us? Did we talk to him more? Did we succeed in adding or deleting something from our lives that we didn’t have before these 40 days? If the answer is yes, then the Holy Season served you well! If the answer is somewhat, I tried, or a flat out no; there is still good news!

It’s not over! We continue in this Holy Season of Easter for eight more weeks, ending with Pentecost Sunday on May 31st. After all the Easter basket goodies have been eaten up, the new clothes the kids received maybe already have holes in them, or the dyed eggs are all gone... Jesus is still making himself present and we are still being guided by the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday, may we see Easter as a time of renewal. May we see it as a time to continue good habits while turning away from those that were bad. May we see that the sacrifice of Our Lord and Savior was for each of us, knowing that we are not perfect but we strive to imitate Christ and be holy people. May we see that the world needs the kindness, compassion, forgiveness and love from our Lord, which ultimately is given to us from him. Now the question remains, do we keep it, hold on to it, and never let it go? Or will we pass it on and make this world the world God wants it to be! ​Blessings for a joyous and Happy Easter, Fr. Barry

Mass will be live-streamed from Christ the King on Facebook * April 6, 7 & 8, 2020

Please check parish website: ctkspencer.net as the Marshfield Deanery Catholic Priests will be celebrating Holy Thursday Mass / Good Friday Service and Holy Saturday Mass, together and these will be lived streamed, from Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church.

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD will be live streamed from our Facebook page; Christ the King Spencer ​April 12, 2020 * 10 a.m. Mass

Effective July 1, 2020, Judy Drechsler will retire after 17 years of faithful service to the parish. This opens the secretarial position with the addition of adding finance tasks. If you or anyone you know would be interested in this job opening, please go to parish website: ctkspencer.net for a complete job description and details on how to submit your resume by deadline of May 1, 2020.

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Welcome from Our Pastor

Welcome to Christ the King Catholic Church! Ever since 1938 this parish has been assisting souls in their quest for deeper union with God. Our mission statement is essentially found in the stained glass window above the main altar: “For Christ our King.” Insofar as God made us and we belong to Him, we have come to... Read More